Articulator with an operating handle for grinding and an adjustable incisive guide with arcuate movement



Oct. 14, 1947. J. 5. MILLER 2,428,308

ARTICULATOR WITH AN OPERATING HANDLE FOR GRINDING AND AN ADJUSTABLE INCISIVE GUIDE WITH ARCUATE MOVEMENT Filed July 19, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. F'| E l Jnmss 5. M/LLEA Oct. 14, 1947. s 2,428,808

' ARTICULATOR WITH AN OPERATING HANDLE FOR GRINDING AND AN ADJUSTABLE INCISIVE GUIDE W ITH ARCUATE MOVEMENT Filed July 19, 1945' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 N III/II; I" "III/III v IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY JAMES 5. M/L AER Patented Oct. 14, 1947 ARTICULATOR WITH AN OPERATING HAN DLE FOR; GRINDING AND AN ADJUSTABLE INCISIVE GUIDE WITH ARCUATE MOVE- MENT James S. Miller, Trenton, N. J.

Application July 19, 1945, Serial No. 605,887

Claims.

My invention relates to dental articulators and to methods of grinding the teeth of artificial dentures. In particular my invention relates to novel constructions whereby the cusp height and inclination of the teeth of such dentures may be increased without restricting the movement of the denture.

In producin artificial dentures, and particularly full upper and lower dentures, it is necessary to grind in the teeth so that they will be capable of movement freely and in a natural manner and yet the dentures must remain properly seated and be comfortable to the patient when in use. However, it is also important for the teeth to have cusps of such height and inclination as to insure proper mastication of food.

In grinding the teeth of a denture the height and inclination'of the cusps are controlled by means of an incisive guide which supports and guides the front or anterior portion of the lower member of the articulator and the lower denture as it is moved to reproduce the movement of the patients lower jaw. Adjustment of the incisive guide serves to vary the height and inclination of the cusps of the teeth but these adjustments have heretofore been limited and it therefore has not always been possible to provide the desired freedom of denture movement without sacrificing the advantages of' proper cusp formation. In such cases the teeth of the denture may be ground down until they are nearly fiat so that although the dentures may afford comfort to the patient this result is attained at the expense of proper mastication. Moreover, in some cases the adjustments of the incisive guide are insufficient even to insure proper movement of the denture and in any event the grinding in of the teeth is a tedious and painstaking operation.

In accordance with my invention these objections and disadvantages of prior articulators and methods of grinding teeth are reduced or eliminated and a novel type of incisive guide is provided which is capable of movement and adjustment to permit the formation of cusps of the desired height and inclination while imposing little or no restraint upon other movements of the articulator necessary for grinding in the teeth. My invention further includes means for manipulating articulators so as to simplify the grinding operation.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide improved means for grinding the teeth of artificial dentures.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved form of incisive guide for dental articulators. V

A further object of my invention is to. provide improved means for manipulating dental artic-.- ulators.

Another object of my invention is to. provide novel methods for use in grinding the teeth of artificial dentures.

These and other objects. and features of my in-v vention will appear from. they following description thereofv inv which reference is made to the figures, of the, accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a, perspective of a typical form of articulator embodying myinvent n;

Fi 2 is a per pective, of a portion of the a ti ulator strated n Figl. showing. a p ferred f rm of. ar fici l. condvle;

F 1s a e ti al se tional vi w th u h the incisive guide illustratedin Fig. 1, and

Figs. 1 to 9 are diagrammatic illustrationsshoW- ing he anne in which. the a t 'c lator moves when an incisive guide embodying my invention is in various adjusted positions.

In that form of my invention chosen for purposes of illustration in the figures of the drawings, the articulator is shown as having a base 2 with a rear column 4 upon which are supported an upper holder .6, and a lower holder 8. The upper holder 6' is designed for receiving and hold-. ing a model ll] of the surfaces to be engaged by the upper denture and is pivotally mounted at, I2 50 that it may be swung upward out of the way, but is capable of being locked in a horizontal position by means of a retaining bolt [4. and ro.-., tatable locking member [6,, The lower holder 8 is designed toreceive a model l8 of the surfaces to be engaged by the lower denture andis supported by the rods 20 which are connected at. their upper end by a bar 22 provided at its op.-. posite ends with pins 24 which are guided in their movement by the slots 25 in the artificial condyles. 28. The front or anterior portion of the holder 8. and model l8 are supported, and guided in their movement by means of the incisive guide indi-. cated generally at 30.

The upper denture 32 embodies a plate 34 which bears against the lower surface of the model [I] carried by the holder 6, whereas the lower denture 3.6 bears against the upper surface of the model l8 carried by the holder 8 of the articulator. The upper denture carries thev artificial teeth 38 While the lower denture carries artificial teeth 40. These teeth are, of course set up and arranged to simulate the natural teeth of the patient. In

this way the upper holder 6 and the model I I! correspond to the patients upper jaw or maxilla, whereas the lower holder 8 and the model l8 correspond to the patients lower jaw or mandible. The pins 24 carried by the bar 22 and rods 26 connected to the holder 8 correspond to the condyles of the patients lower jaw, whereas the slots 26 in the artificial condyles 28 correspond to the glenoid fossa or surfaces over which the patients condyles travel as the lower jaw is moved.

The pins 24 and the bar 22 are normally drawn upwardly and rearwardly in the slots 26 by means of springs 42 so that they normally rest at the upper rear ends Of the slots 26 and the lower the form of a cup 62 which is mounted. on a universal joint 64 carried by the base 50 of the:

incisive guide. 7

The pin and cup are each vertically movable: so as to vary the elevation of the point of contact .between the pin and cup and so as to vary the radius of the arc through which the elements move. They are also movable toward and away from the column 4 of the articulator in the ver-- tical plane midway between the artificial condyles. These adjustments serve to vary. the in-' clination and the type of movement of the lower.

holder 8 and lower denture 36 so as to varythe denture and model normally tend to assume posi height and inclination of the cusps formed on the teeth of. the dentures as they are ground in..

As shown in Fig. 3 the pin 60 is vertically movable in a sleeve 66 provided with a collet 68 for holding the pin in any adjusted position. The

' member 10 serves as a handle for moving the tated to vary the inclination of the slots 26 as indicated'by the pointers 44 and the graduated scales 46 so as to control the pathof movement of the pins 24 to correspond to the path of movement of the patients condyles over the glenoid fossa. When the artificial condyles have been adjusted in proper position they may be locked in place by means of the locking screw 48.

In reproducing the movements of the patients lower-jaw and in varying the position of the artificial condyles I prefer to employ an optical system such as that described and claimed in the patent to Miller and 'Waller No. 2,204,809 dated June 18, 1940. However, the artificial condyles may be positioned or adjusted by any other suitable method or mean and it will be apparent that other forms of articulators, artificial condyles and model holders may be employed in the practice of my invention.

. In order to support and guide the front or an tenor portion of the holder 8 and the model I8 during adjustment of the artificial condyles and when grinding in. the teeth; I provide a novel type of incisive guide, a'preferred form of which is illustrated in the figures of the drawing. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the incisive guide is provided with a base 50 which carries a bolt 52 that extends downward from the base through a slot 54 which extends through the base 2 of the articulator and lies in a vertical plane midway between the artificial condyles 28.

The bolt 52 is provided with a T-shaped head 56 for engaging the lower surf ace of the base of the articulator on ODPOSHJQ sldes of the slot 54 and a nut 53 is applied to the upper portion of the bolt so that the base 56 and incisive guide 36 may be moved toward and away'from the column 4 at the rear of 7 the articulator and in a vertical plane midway between the artificial condyles. By means of the nut .58 the incisive guidemay be fixedly secured inany adjusted position within the central vertical plane. t fl h'e, incisive ;guide embodies" elements which are. movable together in an arcuate path to guide .and control movement of the lower holder 8 and the model 13 and denture 36. 1 As shownone of theseelements is in the iormof apin 60 car. ;ried by the holder 8 and the other element is pin when it is released by the collet. The sleeve 66 by which the pinis carried is mounted on a plate 12 provided with a slot14 through which passes a retaining bolt 16 on the lower holder 8. The slot 1'4 lies in the vertical plane ofthe articulator midway between the artificial condyles when the lower holder and denture are in their fully retracted orrest position so that move ment of the pin 66 along the slot 14 will vary the position of the pin in the central plane of the articulator. I

Verticaladjustment of the cup 62 is effected by means of the sleeve, 18 and the shaft connected to the universal joint 64 and this adjustment is,

maintained by the thumb screw 82. The universal joint 64 may itself be raised and lowered with re-: spect-to the base 56 of the incisive guide by means of theshait 54 and may be heldat any desired elevation'by the set screw 86. Horizontal adjustment of the cup in the central plane of the'ar ticulator is effected by movement of the base '50 of the incisive guide along the slot 54 in thebase of the articulator. t

These. adjustments of the pin and cup provide and the model l8 and lower denture 36fltherefore V will move as shown in Fig. 4 to producecusps on the teeth which are relatively flat as represented by the dotted lines 96. On'the other hand, as

shown in Fig. 5 if the cup 62 is lowered and therefore close to the universal joint 64 the are 92 through which the pin {60 and point of contact with the cup moves will have a smaller radius'of curvature and the model l8 and lower denture 36 will move correspondingly to provide teeth having relatively high cusps at sharp angles as rep- 7 resented by the dotted lines 94. V

In this way the height and angle of inclination of the cusps produced by movement of the lower denture and model '18 with respect to the upper denture and model la may be varied as'desired r 7 without imposing material restrictions upon'the movement of the lower denture as controlled by the pins 24 and slots 26' of the artificialcon dyles 28.. i

. Further, as shown in Figs, 6 and 7, adjustment 7 r of the incisive guide towardand away from the a column 4 of the articulator andwithin a central 'yerti'cal plane between the artificial condyles will.

serve to vary the inclinationand height of the cusp's produced in grinding the teeth. As shown in Fig. 6 the pin and cup 62 are located-in a rear position near the column 4 of the articulator, and they therefore are relatively close to a transverse vertical plane passing through the artificial condyles 26. When in this position, movement of the holder 8, rods 20 and pins 24 to the dotted line position of Fig. 6 will cause the cup '62 and pin 60 to move in a manner to provide relatively high and sharp cusps on the teeth of the dentures in a posterior to anterior direction. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 7, if the incisive guide is moved forward away from the column 4 of the articulator, and away from a vertical plane passing through the artificial condyles, the angle through which the holder 8 and the model l8 will move will be substantially reduced and relatively flat cusps will be formed on the teeth of the dentures in a posterior to anterior direction.

The adjustments illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings serve to vary the inclination of the palatial and lingual cusps of the teeth, Whereas the adjustments of Figs. 6 and 7 serve to vary the inclination of the cusps in anterior and posterior directions. However, by a combination of the adjustments illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 it is possible to produce many and varied forms of cusps and to insure accurate reproduction of the movements of the patients lower jaw while providing the necessary cusp height and inclination to afford proper mastication.

Moreover, these adjustments may be controlled and varied with adjustments of the artificial condyles and one adjustment of the incisive guide may produce different results when used with different adjustments of the artificial condyles. Thus as shown in Figs. 8 and 9 the incisive guide is in the same position but a horizontal artificial condyle produces downward movement of the an-' terior teeth of the lower denture on protrusion whereas an inclined artificial condyle produces upward movement of the anterior teeth on protrusion.

Each of these adjustments can be made readily and the balancing of movements is accompanied so that reproduction of the patients mandibular movements can be effected with accuracy and in a manner to assure the formation of dentures which afford comfort for the patient. At the same time, cusp interference in the movements of the dentures reproduced is eliminated without destroying the cusps or impairing the effectiveness thereof for purposes of mastication.

In order to simplify the grinding in operation I have provided actuating means for the holder 8, a preferred form of which is illustrated in Fig. 1. With this construction an operating handle 96 is mounted on a support 98 removably secured to the base 2 of the articulator by means of abracket I00. The lower end of the handle 96 is provided with a universal joint I02 which permits the handle to be rotated or moved as desired in lateral directions or towards and away from the column 4 of the articulator. The handle 96 is connected to the holder 8 by means of a link 104 by means of a pin I 06 so that upon rotation or movement of the handle 96 in any direction the holder 8, model I8 and lower denture 36 are correspondingly moved. At the same time, the vertical and horizontal movements of the denture are controlled by the artificial condyles 26 and by the incisive guide 30.

With this construction it is very easy to grind in the teeth by placing a suitable grinding composition between the contacting surfaces of the teeth and by actuating the handle 96: toinsure universal movement of the lower denture with respect to the upper denture. When the teeth have been ground until the cusps thereof engage and move freely and without interference in all directions of movement of the handle 96 the dentist or operator is assured that the dentures, when placed in the patientsmouth, will be capable of movement freely and naturally without cusp interference or the application of unequal pressure to the tissues engaged by the dentures. The dentures then will be comfortable to the wearer, whereas t'he formation of the cusps onvv the teeth will be such as to afford effective masti'cation of food.

While I- have illustrated and described a. preferred form of articulator and incisive guide embodying my invention it will be apparent that numerous changes and modifications may be made in the form and construction thereof. It will also bev apparent that incisive guides embodying my invention may be used in combination with other forms of articulators, artificial condyles and holders and other types of actuating means for the articulator may be employed; In view thereof it should be understood that the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings and herein described is intended to be illustrative only and is not intended to limit the scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a dental articulator having a movable model holder, an incisive guide comprising 00.. operating members one of which is connected to said movable mode1 holder and the other of which is connected to a stationary portion of the articulator, said members being movable together in an arcuate path to control movement of the model holder.

2. An incisive guide for a dental articulator comprising a pin and a support movable together in an arcuate path to guide a model of a surface to be engaged by a denture.

3. In a dental articulator having a movable model holder, an incisive guide comprising a pin connected to said movable model holder, a cup into which said pin extends, a pivotal mounting for the cup, and means for varying the position of said pin and cup with respect to said holder.

4. In a dental articulator having a movable mode1 holder, an incisive guide comprising a pin connected to said movable mode1 holder, a cup into which said pin extends, a pivotal mounting for the cup, and means for varying the elevation of the point of contact between said pin and cup.

5. In a dental articulator having a movable mode1 holder, an incisive guide comprising a pin connected to said movable model holder, a cup into which said pin extends, and a universal joint connecting the cup to a stationary portion of the articulator. 4 I

6. In a dental articulator having artificial condyles and a movable model holder, an incisive guide comprising a pin carried by said model holder and adjustable vertically and laterally with respect thereto, a cup engageable by the end of said pin and pivotally movable with respect to a stationary element of the articulator.

7. In a dental articulator having a base, artificial condyles and a movable model holder having the posterior portion thereof guided by said artificial condyles, an incisive guide for controlling movement of the anterior portion of the model holder including cooperating members mounted on said base and model holder and movable together in an arcuate, path, and means for varying the elevation of the point of contact between said pin and cup with respect to said artificial condyles. Y i 8. In a dental articulator having a base, artificial condyles and a movable model holder having the posterior portion thereof guided by said artificial condyles, anincisive guide for controlling movement of the anterior portion of the model holder including cooperating members mounted onsaid base and model holder and movable together in an arcuate path, and means for varying the distance between said incisive guide and a vertic'al plane including said artificial con dyles. I t

9. In a dental articulator having a base, artificial condyles and a movable model holder having the'posterior portion thereof guided by said artificial condylesfan incisive guide for controlling movement of the anterior portion of the 20 model holder including cooperating members mounted on said base and model holder and movable together in an arcuate path, one of said members having a universal joint connecting it to the member on which it is mounted.

REFERENCES CITED 'The following-references are of record in the file of this patent: V

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name 7 Date v 1,218,178 Hall Mar. 6, 1917 Gambill Mar. 25,192 L 

